‘Veronica Mars’ Turns Ten

Ten years ago today the public was introduced to spunky teen private eye Veronica Mars and her band of friends (mostly former friends and enemies) in the fictional beach town of Neptune, California. The neo-noir television show was never a ratings booster for UPN, but it went on to be critically acclaimed and a cult favorite. With its movie premiering earlier this year, a new book series, and a spinoff web series on the rise, Veronica Mars just might be more popular than ever.

The first thing you probably notice while watching the pilot is Kristen Bell’s cringe-worthy hair and clothes. Rewatching the show with my girlfriend (her first time) has me defending it, almost embarrassed to say this is one of my favorite television shows of all time – if not my favorite. Watching teenagers sport bad early 2000s clothes and hair (“Don’t worry, it gets better as time goes on”) with somewhat corny background music is a little rough, but when it comes down to it, Veronica Mars is so much more than that. There’s definitely a reason why it’s still being talked about 10 years later, and there’s a reason why it was resurrected from the dead seven years after its cancellation.

Veronica Mars, while perhaps stuck in a three year time period in the mid-2000s, still stands the test of time. There’s been nothing like it since it went off the air in 2007. Veronica has been dubbed as a replacement for Buffy, but there’s been no replacement for her. A clever, resourceful, and sassy young woman who uses her wit to outsmart others. What more could you want? Forget Marvel superheroes. Veronica, with her intelligence and “take shit from no one” attitude, is the only superhero I need, and to me, she’s the superhero of the 2014 box office.

Not just one, but several compelling overarching mysteries seen over the first two seasons are part of what makes the show so great. Since viewing the show for the first time about a year ago, I’ve watched it twice, and I’m currently on my third run. I guarantee you it won’t be my last. I’m a little late to the game, but Veronica is and from now on always will be one of my favorite on-screen stories and characters.

I think it really says something to be this relevant 10 years later, and to have gained so many fans (myself included) in that period of time. Despite what people say about me or my beloved little cult television show, I’ll fight for it until the end. I’m sorry, is that too sappy? Well, you know what they say. I’m a marshmallow.